How I Built This with Guy Raz Planet: Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler
Dec 13, 2021
Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, co-founders of Planet, share their journey from NASA to launching small satellites that capture daily images of Earth. They discuss the initial challenges of building an agile startup in a garage while tackling resource constraints. Topics include their first breakthrough satellite images and the mission to photograph every tree on the planet. They also explore ethical uses of satellite data for environmental crises and the exciting future of satellite technology amidst falling launch costs.
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Meeting at UN Conference
- Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler met at a UN conference in Austria in 2001.
- They bonded over their shared interest in using space technology for humanitarian purposes.
Meeting Pete Worden
- At a space conference, Will and Robbie met Pete Worden, who ran the US Air Force's space weapons program.
- They debated space weaponization, and Worden later invited them to work at NASA Ames.
Worden's Vision for Ames
- Pete Worden, director of Ames Research Center, invited young scientists like Will and Robbie to bring fresh perspectives.
- Worden aimed to challenge NASA’s established processes and explore new possibilities in space research, similar to Xerox PARC in the 70s.